Strathfieldsaye's St Francis of the Fields Primary School celebrates 25 years with blessings and a time capsule

The school marked 25 years of teaching Strathfieldsaye students on Friday.

"We had a very successful day," Deputy Principal Grace Scalora said. "The children were extremely excited to sing happy birthday to the school and get a piece of cake.

"We're also grateful that the weather held up in the morning during the blessing of the animals and the new statue of St Francis of Assisi."

Past and present families attended the day-long celebration, with one of the key events the opening of a time capsule from 1994.

Read more: St Francis of the Fields Primary School in Strathfieldsaye celebrates 25th anniversary

"Twenty-five years ago the president of our Parents and Friends Committee Peter Mannes put together the capsule," Ms Scalora said.

"Peter couldn't come but his son Karl and his grandson Xavier, who attends the school today, were the ones who helped take the old capsule out.

"The current president of the Parents and Friends Committee and his family, along with our school board chair, were the ones who then brought up the new capsule.

"So there was nice symmetry there."

The old time capsule revealed a number of old photos and letters from students and families gone past. The new capsule featured videos of the current students detailing what they wanted to be in 25 years time.

"The children really enjoyed it," Ms Scalora said. "They didn't really have an opportunity to have a closer look because we unveiled it at the end of the day.

"But it will be in a cabinet on display for everyone to see."

The blessing of the animals on Friday morning also proved to be successful.

"We had many animals from rabbits, to chickens, and even a lamb that were blessed," Ms Scalora said.

"We asked the parents to take the animals away straight away and thankfully all of the animals were returned home safely.

"Each year the community keeps this tradition going and it's something that our students just love.

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